Broken On The Inside
by Lil'MissCena
Summary: When she finds out her husband is cheating on her, Tamsin meets with her close friend Jeff Hardy and falls into the arms of an Animal. DaveOC Please R
1. Chapter 1

-1**A/N**

**Ok, so I'm going into some unexplored territory over here, but my fingers have been screaming at me to do a Batista fic for a while, and now I can't deny them that right. As with any story, reviewing is pretty important to me seeing as I can be a pretty lazy ass without encouragement. I don't disclaim- Batista's locked in my basement and I married Randy yesterday.**

Chapter 1

I turned on the ignition to my car and bolted out of the parking lot, my heart racing and my eyes little more than slits. I was furious and if I didn't calm down soon I was pretty much guaranteed to crash on the freeway. Fiddling with the knobs on the radio, I let out an annoyed grunt and stabbed the CD changer button, Buckcherry booming from the speakers. It's funny how things happen, usually for a reason. Right then I couldn't even think about what had happened enough to cry or to pull over and scream. In fact, I was pretty much running on adrenaline and was convinced that the drive to North Carolina would be enough to clear my head before I stepped into a new chapter of my life.

I'm not the most innocent person you'll ever meet, but I'm not as lying and deceitful as my husband. It still doesn't explain why I returned home the night before to find my house devoid of my possessions, including the coffee table I had inherited from my mother when she had passed away last year and the clothes I had bought on a recent trip to LA. Of course, there was only one explanation right? I don't know if this is what _you _expected, but it sure was what I've known for a long time.

_I rubbed the back of my neck and let out a slow groan as I dragged my feet to the front door and practically fell through it, using the wall as a support to stop me from falling on my ass. After taking a breather for a few minutes I found the energy to bound up the stairs, ready to throw myself onto my bed and pass out. That was until I opened the door to find my husband more or less suffocating a young brunette. Always one for a course of light entertainment, I stuck around for a little while, a small smile aching to make it's way across my face as I heard the man I had vowed to love scream out various obscenities as he buried himself inside her. The young woman was no different, giggling and letting out little squeals here and there as he gorged on her nipple. He only stopped when he felt her freeze beneath him, a funny look crossing his tan face as he ran his hands through his black hair and let out a regretful sigh. I stayed rooted to the spot, feeling the pain that I vowed never to feel course through my body as I held my breath to stop myself from crying._

"_Tammy, I can explain!" Jason pleaded, pushing the girl off of him and starting towards me in all his naked glory. I simply turned away and ran down the stairs, jumping in my black Cherokee and driving away, the screech of the tyres letting him know that I was gone. _

God knows I gave up everything I had for that man. I moved away from my family so he could fulfill his dream of being a rock star, with which he had quite a lot of success. Believe me, I was thinking the exact same thing as you when he told me- _'Rock star, how cliché'_ which was promptly followed with a roll of my eyes, but I was madly in love with him and would have donated a kidney if it meant him being happy. It was definitely a slow start- at one point his band was lucky to make it onto local radio or book a gig at a bar, but the minute they got spotted by a big time producer they were pumping out records faster than I could keep up with. We had the luxury mansion, the cars, the money, but he found it hard to believe that that wasn't what I was living for. He couldn't understand that I was happy in the modest townhouse that we bought in Charlotte with the people that I knew and the job that I loved. That resulted in me staying at home while he went on tour all over the world, but the weird thing was that I was happy with things that way. That still doesn't explain why all my things were gone from the apartment, right? Well, before I got home I got a call while I was at the gym from Jason's bandmate Ziggy, who I had become close friends with when we toured together. He was into Japanese cosplay, which was basically dressing up as anime characters on a daily basis (he's a real kid at heart). He was probably the weirdest person I'd ever met- his hair was fanned out and blue, he wore white make up, black contacts and an outfit worthy of Pokemon. Anyway, during this call he warned me that Jason had been seeing the band's manager behind my back and they had plans to move in together. My stuff was in a U-Haul and he was about to let me go when I got home. I thanked Ziggy for the information and immediately headed home, which explained why he was still fucking when I got in. The thing that hurt the most though, was that the woman in his bed wasn't even his manager.

I checked my rear view and turned the ignition off as pulled into the back of the country house. Always one for keeping up appearances I sat and cried for a few minutes then straightened out my face, dried my eyes and put some make up on. Once I was satisfied with the way I looked I jumped out and locked the car door, calmly walking our front and knocking a couple of times before a tired Jeff Hardy answered. His eyes widened when he realised who it was as he swept me into a hug and laid a couple of kisses on my forehead, making me grin.

"Come on in Tam!" he greeted in his southern drawl, wrapping his muscly arm around my shoulders and leading me in before closing the door behind him. "Matt, Shan, Tam's here!" he shouted, laughing when he received muffled noises of approval from upstairs. I wasted no time in making myself at home, walking into the living room and sitting on his leopard patterned couch and practically sinking into it, my eyes heavy with sleep. I first met Jeff at a bar in Charlotte- Jason's band were playing after Peroxwhy?gen and we had a couple of drinks as he waited to be called up with the rest. A lot of people didn't really 'understand' his music, and neither did I, but I still enjoyed the performance and congratulated him for it afterwards.

"_That was… interesting." I laughed as Jeff slipped in next to me, grabbing a beer and lighting a cigarette. I glanced at the packet and raised an eyebrow._

"_Herbal?" I smirked as he nodded and bowed his head shyly._

"_I'm trying ta give up," he told me, his eyes squinted as he analyzed the packet and blew out some smoke, "They taste like shit but the programme says I gots ta do it."_

_I sent him a smile and took a sip of my brandy as I glanced to the stage and listened to Jason's guitar solo._

"_He's pretty good!" Jeff shouted above the music as I nodded in approval I swayed on my seat. As Jeff turned to watch them perform I analysed his features a little. His fading purple and green hair was in a messy ponytail and I could see an unfinished tattoo at the base of his neck. His hands sported chipped black nail polish and his ears brandished two gold slave earrings. As I glanced at his hand again I could see I think gold band on his ring finger. I was so engrossed in my investigations that I hadn't noticed him turn back to look at me._

"_Keeps the female fans tame." he explained as I nodded my head and blushed slightly at being caught with my hand in the cookie jar._

"_You got fans?" I asked, my finger making lazy circuits around the rim of my glass._

"_Not for my music," he laughed making me chuckle, "For my art."_

_Being the naïve asshole I was I really didn't understand what he was talking about and replied, "Oh, so you're a famous painter around here?"_

_He shook his head and stubbed out his cigarette before answering me._

"_I worked for WWE. I wrestle."_

_I got so caught up in our conversation that I didn't realise that Jason's band had stopped playing, and to be honest I didn't really care. I probably should have though, as Jeff gestured towards one of the booths with his head where my boyfriend was currently talking to a lean blonde, who found it appropriate to sit on his lap and play with his hair. I turned my attention from the scene back to Jeff._

"_Don't worry, it happens all the time. I'm used to it by now." I explained as I reasoned that **my **Jason was indeed a good looking man. At 6'1, spiky black hair, the left of his lip pierced and the most beautiful blue eyes, any woman would be mad enough not to want him._

"_Yeah, that does tend to happen…" Jeff agreed, although I could hear the doubt in his voice. Little did I know that the woman was now whispering in Jason's ear and he was reciprocating._

"_So, this WWE. You used to work for them?" I questioned, pulling down my top a little and asking the bartender for some water to clear my head._

"_Yeah, but I don't now. I got into a lot ta heavy shit and they thought it was best I leave…" I could hear the wounded tone to his voice, even though his face didn't show it. I decided to leave the subject alone and move onto something else._

"_You write your music?" I asked vaguely, but more as a statement._

"_Yeah. It's pretty far out stuff- what did ya think?"_

_I'm not really the kind of person to lie, so I gave him a straight answer._

"_Honestly? I didn't really understand the logic behind it. The beats were good though… it reminded me a little of Nine Inch Nails, industrial sounding."_

"_Isn't industrial cold and unforgiving music?" he remarked with a look of mock offense on his face as I took him seriously._

"_No, not at all. Industrial music is about drawing a beat and a sound out of something that normal people wouldn't be able to interpret. It takes a lot of skill. Like with NIN, a normal person would perceive the lyrics to be about blowjobs, but he's actually singing about the need to conform."_

_Jeff sent me a blank look for a minute as I feared I had made myself look like a freak. Then he broke out into a smile for which I gave him a playful slap on the thigh for making me worry._

"_Ah shit, I've gotta go. I'm going with Shannon to watch a TNA taping but here, take my number and call me sometime." he babbled, hurriedly scribbling his number down on a piece of paper and kissing me on the cheek before departing._

_I was too stunned to take in what had just happened, but I stuffed the number in my pocket as I saw Jason approach._

"_What the fuck happened there?" he slurred, grabbing my wrist and pulling me off the bar stool. I rolled my eyes and tugged myself from his grasp._

"_Let's go home Jason." I sighed, as Ziggy joined us and we exited with the rest of the band._

"So Tam, you gonna tell me why you're here?" Jeff asked, sitting opposite be and bringing me back to reality. I had two options- tell him the truth or tell him a lie. I'm a really stubborn bastard, I went with option two.

"Jason's on tour again and I was a little lonely so I thought I'd come down here to see you guys." I said cheerfully, praying that he hadn't picked up on anything.

"Really?" he replied with a raised eyebrow. Shit- I guess I'm not so good after all.

"Why else? Can't a girl come out and see her best friend once in a while?" I said, straining to stop myself from crying and making a fool of myself.

"Sure you can, but that doesn't explain why you don't have your wedding band on Tam." he told me lazily as I brought my hand to my gaze and realised that he was right, "So are you gonna bullshit about what happened or come straight out with it?" he prompted as I battle with myself to keep things private.

"We're not together anymore." I said simply as he shook his head and got up.

"Look, when you feel like telling me the truth I'm ready and waiting, but for now I'm tired, you're tired and we're flying out to Smackdown tomorrow. The sheets are in the cupboard and the blankets are under the table." he told me as he pointed to where everything was, "G'night Tammy bear." he yawned, giving me a kiss on the cheek and leaping upstairs. Once I knew he was gone I opened up the sofa bed and made it up, climbing in and swiping at the tears as they crashed down my face before sleep won.

OoOoOoOoO

I woke up the next morning to find a more than amused Shannon Moore smiling down at me. As soon as I opened my eyes I tried to close them again but failed miserably- he had spotted me and proceeded to tickle me until I begged for mercy and jumped off the bed.

"Moore you asshole, I'm gonna rip you a new one for this!" I squealed as he wrapped me up into a hug.

"It's been a long time since we last saw ya Tammy!" he said into my hair as I flinched slightly at the reminder of my husband although he didn't seem to notice.

"Look, I'm gonna go get cleaned up then I'll be back down to beat your ass, where's Matt?"

"He's-"

"Tam, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jeff interrupted as I made my way over to him.

"Uh, yeah?" I asked nervously, playing with the ends on my hair.

"Half your shit's in the back of your car- what's going on?" he interrogated as I tried to avoid his gaze, his green orbs looking into my brown ones searching for the answer.

"I'm relocating Jeff." I sighed, wishing that he'd leave it at that and just accept my lies as gospel.

"I know _that, _but _why_? What did Jason do Tam? Did you have an argument?"

"No."

"Did he throw you out?"

"No!" I lied. Well, on a technicality he hadn't actually done so, I'd left the house of my own free will. I thought I'd keep that part to myself.

"Did that son of a bitch _hit _you Tam?!"

"Hell no!" I shouted. Jason had never been an aggressive person. He accidentally hit me a couple of times when he was drunk, but that only happened once and he said he'd never do it again. He was more 'in your face' guy. You know the type that makes empty threats and then regrets it later? Yeah, that's the Jason I knew.

"What the fuck happened then?" he sighed in frustration raking his hands through his newly dyed pink and blue hair.

"Look, he's been fucking around on me a couple of times and I've had enough of it. That's all. I'm not dying, I haven't been beaten and I'm not running away. That's it, ok?" I answered calmly, the reality of the situation really hitting home now I'd told somebody about it. I couldn't stop the tears from running down my face, even though I tried to block off all the emotions I could and remain level headed.

"Don't worry about that asshole Tam, you can come travel with us for a while, ok?" Jeff soothed as I nodded and melted into his embrace, crying into his chest as he played with my hair a little. After a few minutes I stopped crying and lifted my head, sending him a weak smile.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Hardy." I told him sincerely as he hugged me in reply.

"Go get 'cha self cleaned up and then we'll have to get on the road. Can you handle that honey?" he asked softly as I nodded and bounded up to the bathroom.

"Matt's left your clothes on my bed!" he shouted after me as I shouted a 'thanks' back and hopped in the shower.

When I got out and got changed, I got down in time to help Jeff get their cases and stuff into the back of their rental.

"Leave your car here and you can use it when we get back." Matt told me as I nodded in understanding and put my stuff in the boot. Shannon came out of the house last and closed the door behind him.

"The Prince Of Punk has arrived!" he shouted as my eyes widened at his appearance. His blonde and black Mohican was far different from the mid-length baby hair he has sported the night before and his black eye make up and lipstick was definitely an alarming change from the fresh face look I was used to.

"He looks like an ass, right?" Matt whispered in my ear as we both burst out laughing, Shannon poking his (pierced) tongue out at me.

"Holy shit, Shannon what happened to you?" I exclaimed, poking his nose up to take a proper look at his septum piercing.

"Punk happened to him man." Jeff told he as he shook his head and got in the driver's seat.

"Shut up Jeffro! Actually, _Tamsin_," he began, a smile crossing his features as he saw me cringe at the use of my full name, "ECW happened my friend. It's the new revolution, the extreme to be seen, electrifying-"

"Too much of The Rock if you ask me." I muttered as Matt and Jeff descended into laughter and Shannon swatted my shoulder. After the fun and games we all made it into the car eventually and we were off to the airport. They'd actually made me forget about the situation with Jason, that was until we went to the duty free at the airport. Right there on The National Enquirer was a picture of me on the freeway with a mutinous expression on my face with the caption,

'_ROCK STAR'S MARRIAGE ON THE ROCKS?' _

What the fuck? There were people snapping me as I drove and I didn't manage to see one flash of a bulb? Luckily, Jeff and the rest hadn't seen it so I resigned myself to buying a huge bag of sweets and finding comfort in a giant cola bottle. Light relief.

We went through all the usual shit and the flight was pretty boring. Shannon was up to his usual antics of squirting milk out of his nose and poking the people behind him with the spikes of his hair and at some point I had fallen asleep.

"Tam, we're here…" Matt said, shaking me awake. I swiped at his hands hoping for just a few more minutes sleep but failed miserably and reluctantly opened my eyes.

"DC baby!" Shannon shouted, grabbing his hand luggage from the overhead compartment and more or less skipping off the plane.

"Too much sugar?" I asked to nobody in particular.

"Too much hairspray." Jeff chuckled as we made our way to baggage claim. As stood around aimlessly for a few minutes as they signed some t-shirts and Matt made a point to take a picture with every single fan which made me smile. When everybody was satisfied we went to get a rental, for which we had to queue for a long LONG time. It was clear to see that I was getting restless- I sat on my luggage, rearranged my luggage, ate my sweets and chewed my gum until somebody tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hi, I'm Dave." I heard as a shook his hand and sent Jeff a confused look.

"Erm, I don't know you, do I?" I asked nervously, noting that his hand had not let go of mine and things were getting pretty uncomfortable.

"We just spent the last five minutes trying to get your attention but your mind was somewhere else." Shannon told me as I blushed and jerked my hand away from his, scratching the back of my head awkwardly.

"Dave works with me, on Smackdown." Matt informed me as I nodded, feeling like a complete idiot.

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry, I'm not really with it today. I don't make it a point to ignore people or come across as rude or anything. Fuck first impressions…" I babbled as Dave chuckled. I couldn't help but blush some more as I noticed his perfect smile, and I nearly fainted when he took his sunglasses off. His eyes were almond shaped, with an Asian slant that told me that he definitely wasn't American. They were a coffee brown colour that complimented his tan skin perfectly. He was wearing a grey Giorgio Armani suit and I can honestly say I've never seen a man that looked as good as this one.

"Dave's the Heavyweight Champion." Jeff remarked, snapping me out of my daze and seemingly sending Dave out of his.

"Oh, really? That's a pretty big achievement… the only Dave I know is Dave Finlay though… you know that Irish fuck that tried to drink my Baileys once?" I commented, going completely off subject. Everybody laughed as I frowned at the memory.

"I take it you're not really a fan of his then?" Dave laughed, noticing the incredulous look on my face.

"She's just pissed because he beat her in a drinking contest and she fell on her ass in front of everyone that night." Jeff told him as I sent him a stern look.

"You guys make me sound like an alcoholic…" I muttered, completely annoyed with the North Carolinian trio, who had most probably succeeded in making me look like a complete fool in front of the Adonis stood before me.

"Don't worry, I like a woman who can hold her liquor." he whispered in my ear when they returned to their conversation as I felt the heat rise to my face. This was definitely going to be interesting.

OoOoOoOoO

**Well, that was it. Please R&R, the good, the bad, the downright UGLY. I wanna know, damnit! **

**Lil' Miss Cena**


	2. Chapter 2

-1**Thanks for all the reviews sent my way- of course this is definitely a sign that reviews encourage me to write. Don't be afraid to point out any inconsistencies or things that could be improved. Yet again, I don't disclaim. Bite me McMahon. Now that's over- on with the chapter!**

Chapter 2

To say that I was a little flustered after what Dave had said to me would be an understatement. I had to call my voicemail a couple of times to avoid making eye contact with him but I could still see him looking over and smirking every once in a while. Damn that man.

"C'mon I got us a rental, Dave you can ride up front with me you big jackass!" Jeff shouted, Dave sending him a look of mock disgust that was quickly followed with a flash of his Hollywood smile. They all walked off to the car as I fumbled around in my purse for my iPod. Little did I know that Dave had decided to hang around a little, leaving him and I to walk back to the car alone.

"Need some help?" a gruff voice said from behind me, making me jump on the spot. I turned on my heel to come face to chest with the one person I had quite clearly failed to avoid.

"Holy shit, you scared the living daylights out of me!" I told him, hoping that he was relating the quiver in my voice to the shock.

"Sorry, didn't mean to… your iPod's in your pocket by the way." he pointed, leaving me stunned when he had the audacity to stick his hand into it to retrieve the item, "Here."

Still too taken aback to say anything I took it from him and promptly stuck the earphones into my ears, trying to derail any chance of him talking to me. The walk to the car was pretty much silent but the pace was fast, which I attributed to Dave's desire to lie as low as possible in the busy airport. There was a dangerous heat where his knuckles had seemed to perforate the fabric of my jacket, almost as if he had left a mark. I climbed into the blue hatchback and we pulled out pretty fast, leading me to assume that we were headed to the hotel pretty fast.

Eventually we got to the hotel, I got my room number and off I went. As soon as I hit the sheets I was out like a light. I hadn't really realised how what had happened with Jason had impacted the time I had for myself. I won't lie and say that I had comforting dreams, but I woke up refreshed and ready to go. That was, until I got a call from Shannon.

"We'll be back at the hotel in 20 minutes." he told me as I yawned slightly and fumbled with my bra.

"Uh huh." I replied, almost seeing Shannon rolling his eyes on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired after my match- I think we're going to eat and then we're gonna crash."

I froze for a second.

"Shannon, what the fuck? Match? Did you go to the event without me?"

I could hear him struggling to find an answer for the barrage of questions I had thrown his way, resulting in a few audible muffled noises and hesitations.

"You asshole! I wanted to see Mark and you fucked things up. Shannon Brian Moore you're a fucking loser!" I started, at the beginning deadly serious but then feeling the laughter building up in my throat I gave in. I jumped off the bed and crossed the room to get my toothbrush from my suitcase.

"Actually Tammy, I've got a surprise for you…"

"Erm, uh huh? And what would that be?"

During the silence that followed, I began to brush my teeth and then realised that I was chewing the brush in anticipation of what Shannon had to say to me.

"Hello, you still alive over there?" I asked, spitting out the minty foam and reaching for the mouthwash. I was half way through gargling when Shannon finally chose to reply.

"Mark's next door."

That one sentence caused me to choke on my mouthwash, coughing and spluttering everywhere.

"Tammy, you alright over there?"

I leaned forward into the bowl and more or less dry heaved to keep myself breathing. That must have sounded so gross, but hey- anything to keep me alive, you know?

"Yeah, I'm fine I think. Look, I'm gonna go. I'll talk to you later."

I didn't give him a chance to reply, just disconnecting the call and running to get dressed. I guess this is when I should fill you in on why I get so manic about Mark. Well, as you probably all know, the Mark I'm referring to is known to the wrestling world as Undertaker. When we first met we really couldn't stand each other. We had nothing in common, I was PMSing and he seemed to have an opinion about everything.

"_Mark, Tammy. Tammy, Mark."_

_Jeff Hardy was not known for his introductory skills. We both analysed each other for a moment before reluctantly offering out hands to each other. I remember hearing about an interview he had done with a bikers magazine, in which one of the questions was, 'Does music define a biker?'_

'_**To a certain degree, yes. There are some pansy ass bands around these days though. Like Adrenaline. I've read about them being compared to Motorhead and I just don't see it. They have some weird ass members and I don't think much about their lyrics.'**_

_Jeff obviously hadn't been listening to me when I ranted and raved about how his dickhead of a co worker slammed my man's band._

"_Hi, I'm Mark." he said monotonously._

"_Talk about pointing out the obvious…" I muttered under my breath, even though it was clear he had heard. The tension in the room was unbelievable. _

"_Jeff I'm gonna go. I'm tired. G'night."_

_I didn't even look at anyone, slipping out of the room and screaming at myself for not smacking the man around the face. Knowing what a big fan base he had, I thought it was spiteful of him to disrespect Adrenaline like that. Jason and worked too hard to have a number of his fans disappear just because an overgrown Texan didn't like them._

It took a few weeks for us to even consider looking at one another again, but when things started to get bad with Jason the grudge kind of slipped away and we got to know each other. _Really _know each other. It was way before he met Sara, but we had indeed slept together- and we didn't regret it either. I was upset and needed comfort at the time, and Mark was there to give it to me. Nobody had even clocked on to the fact that after that night we seemed to be a lot closer, but there was a lot of other stuff going on then too. Jeff and just broken up with Beth and Matt was on tour in Europe with Smackdown. Luckily for us, it gave us some time to sit down and have long, in-depth conversations about the things that bothered us. Mark is almost like my counsellor, and I wouldn't have it any other way. He also owes me $350 from the last time I saw him. You'll find out about that later.

I forget how plane rides can fuck up my body clock, so when half way through my shower I realised it was 11.30pm I rolled my eyes and continued to clean myself. I'd just got out when there was a knock on the door. I grabbed my towel, wrapped myself in it and carefully approached the door.

"Who are ya, bitch?" I called out, only to hear a deep chuckle in reply.

"It's the same guy that raped you last night," they laughed, "It's Mark woman, let me in."

I deliberately stalled for a few seconds just to wind him up and then decided to let him in. When it opened he flung his arms around me and pulled me in for a kiss. I guess it's perverted, but we kiss with tongues just like any other couple. Except we're not a couple and we never will be. I guess it's just a comfort thing. We considered getting together after that night, but in the end we could see that we were only meant to be friends.

"What's up darlin'?" he asked, pushing some of my clothes further up the bed so that he could perch himself on the edge of it.

"Nothing much, just going to meet Shannon and the rest… I think." I told him, grabbing another towel and drying my hair with it.

"Why 'I think'?"

"He went to Smackdown without me, the motherfucker. To be fair, he said that I was out cold- I probably needed the sleep."

I returned to the bathroom briefly but continued my conversation with him through the door. Through the crack I analysed him. His baggy jeans and Guns n' Roses t-shirt were far from the 'Deadman' image that I was used to seeing. His auburn hair was tied back and hidden beneath a grey bandana, his green eyes studying his calloused hands.

"So, I heard you met Dave?"

I inwardly cringed. I could hear the smirk in his voice, and I didn't like it one bit. That's one thing I hate about Mark-he seems to have x-ray vision when it comes to me an my feelings about people.

"Yeah. He's cool." I replied trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. I returned to the bedroom to get my grey combats and pink vest top, only to find that Mark was holding onto them, turning it into a tug of war. There was a moment of stillness, where my eyes met his and I knew I would have to listen to whatever he had to say.

"He's going through some things right now Tamsin. I wouldn't suggest you get involved with him."

His eyes bored into mine as I processed what he said. It was at the moment of realisation that a confused look flickered across my face.

"I don't get it."

Of course I wouldn't. Dave seemed the perfect gentleman at the airport, and despite his slightly crude remark (which I found a huge turn on) I couldn't see a reason for me not to get involved with him at all. Mark patted next to him as an indication that I should be seated. Sometimes he acted like my father.

"Dave's having some trouble in the Smackdown locker room and it's mainly because of his attitude."

He was being vague.

"Stop being vague Mark. That can't be all. What's going on?"

He released a sigh that I guessed he'd been holding back since the beginning of the conversation.

"He's lost his passion for the business Tamsin. He's not there anymore." as he told me as he tapped at his head to demonstrate his point, "He got divorced a couple of months ago and his wife's been sucking him dry ever since. She wants the money, the cars, the house. She basically blames Dave for everything wrong in her life. A relationship is the last thing he needs right now. Come to think of it , it's the last thing _you _need right now too."

From what he'd told me I knew he was right, but Dave... his smile, his eyes, his broad shoulders… what I would do for one night with that man.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you to get dressed and everything," Mark announced, throwing my clothes at me and heading for the door.

"You scrunched them up you asshole! Now I have to iron them again."

He was almost out of the door before I'd said that, but as I turned I heard the door close and footsteps behind me. Oh shit.

"Wanna say that again darlin'?" he threatened playfully, backing me up against the wall and kissing me on the head, "G'night." he laughed, gently closing the door behind him as I threw the clothes back into my suitcase. Fuck Shannon, I was going back to sleep.

OoOoOoOoO

So here I was, backstage at RAW for the first time in two and a half years. Things didn't really seem to be that much different, except from the fact that I couldn't recognise half of the people that Jeff was talking to. Things were so much simpler when there wasn't a split roster; Matt, Shannon and Jeff were on the same show, as were Mark and Glen. There was always something for me to do or somebody for me to talk to. I stood uncomfortably for a few minutes, playing with the cuffs of my green jacket as I watched half naked women running frantically backstage. There was no Stacy, Dawn Marie or Ivory anymore. Just blonde and brunette curls bouncing around from room to room. For the first time in my life I felt overly-conscious about the way I looked; these women has perfect breasts with flawless make up and porcelain skin. I looked at myself with my white trousers, red wrap top and brown stilettos (the one part of the outfit that I did approve of), and did a double take. Where in the hell had my youth gone? A couple of years ago I would have shamelessly put my toned stomach on show, but somewhere along the line I'd lost that confidence. Oh no, wait, I remember.

"_You need to cover up- you're getting freaks coming onto you." Jason muttered after we headed to the car._

"_He's not a freak and he wasn't coming onto me either. And what are you talking about me covering up? I hardly dress like a slut."_

"_That's what you think…" he muttered, thinking I hadn't heard when in fact I had. That kind of crushed me. Actually, it **did**._

"_That Jeff guy, he best stay away. We're not going back there again. I don't want other guys eyeing my prize."_

_His prize? His fucking prize? What had he ever done to deserve me?_

Well, that was short and sweet.

"Tammy, this is Maria. Maria, Tammy."

Nice to know things hadn't changed in that department then.

"Hey Tammy? Nice to meet you. I'm Maria!" the perky brunette greeted, thrusting her hand in my direction. As I accepted it I sent Jeff an odd look, with which he signalled with his hands that all was right with the world and she wasn't on speed.

"Hey Maria. Nice to meet you to. What do you do around here?"

"I'm a diva. I'm from 2005 Diva Search. It was so much fun! You have really pretty eyes." she commented, throwing me completely off.

"Erm, thanks…" I replied, not really knowing what to say.

"No, really. I went to fashion school and we would have used you in the cosmetology department. You would have been really good to experiment on."

Wow. I guess the girl's not as dumb as she looks.

"You went to fashion school? That's pretty good. I'm not much into that- spent most of my teenage years drinking and having sex."

Anyone have a zip? I think I need one for my mouth…

"Haha, I can't say much different myself. I'm Edge now."

My eyebrows raised at that as she took off her wristbands to reveal a tiny cross on each wrist.

"I don't think I have the willpower for something like that. I like my drink and drugs I'm afraid."

I don't know why, but Maria and I just seemed to click, and before long I was being introduced to all of the Divas. Most of them were pretty cool; Mickie James was probably one of the nicest, but some of them seemed really up their own asses. I think I might need to teach them a thing or two.

"Ashley, this is Tamsin. She's here with Jeff-"

"I've got things to do, can you get out of my way?" the punk girl rudely interrupted as she pushed her way past Maria and took to inserting her lip ring in the mirror.

"Look, Ashlyn."

"It's _Ashley_."

"Look, Trashley," I began, which got a few of the girls giggling, "I don't know what crawled up your ass and died but I'd appreciate if you had a little more in the way f manners around here."

She didn't say anything, just pushed past me and walked out of the room. There was silence for a moment before we all burst out laughing.

"That was good." Torrie told me, giving me a supportive pat on the back and departing.

"I like you, I like you a lot." Victoria followed before returning to the bathroom to take a shower.

"So do I. I don't know what Matt sees in her."

I froze. Matt and _that_? Oh dear, something needs to be done.

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**Well, that's it, another chapter. Please review and let me know what you're thinking.**

**Lil' Miss Cena**


	3. Chapter 3

-1**A/N**

**Well, I guess this update is for lowritheaussie- thanks for all the reviews and positive feedback I'm getting!**

Chapter 3

"Just a little more silver and… yup, you're ready to go!"

I have no idea how I became embroiled in an intense cosmetics session with Maria, but we'd had some fun and now it was time for me to go. Jeff was waiting out back and I was so tired I would have happily cocooned myself in the warmness of the chair.

Maria perkily handed me the mirror, in which I took a quick glance and smiled approvingly.

"Thanks. You've done a really great job."

She'd also taken the liberty of curling my hair and painting my nails. I can't say I felt a million bucks, but judging by some of the looks I was getting I certainly looked like it. I quickly gathered up my stuff and made a hasty exit, trying to rid my lungs of the hairspray that had been lavished upon me. When I've got something to do or somewhere to go (in this case the hotel and sleep), the rest of the world is a complete blur. Which explains why I found myself sprawled on the floor as I thought about whether or not I could be bothered to take my clothes off once I got to the hotel.

"You didn't have to get all dressed up for me."

Oh shit. I knew who it was as soon as a huge hand captured mine and yanked me to my feet. I could smell his cologne and I could feel the rumble in his chest as he dripped the words into my ear.

_Run, you dumb fuck! Tell him you have somewhere to be!_

I giggled. After everything that Mark had told me and the positive warfare going in my mind… I fucking giggled. I struggled to breathe let alone compose myself; this man was having such a bad effect on me.

"Don't flatter yourself Dave. In fact, I was just on my way back to the hotel." I told him, a well shaped eyebrow lifting at my words.

"Alright, I'll let you off this time… you're not going alone are you? It's not safe out there, you might need me to keep you-"

"Jeff's outside." I almost snapped, giving him a quick wave as my heels clicked towards the exit. In the reflection on the window as I approached the door I saw him shake his head and chuckle to himself as he stroked at the stubble on his face. Damn that man.

My heart was still racing as I approached Jeff's car, my mind still focused on my exchange with Dave.

"Ready to go?" he asked. It wasn't really that much of a question- by the time he'd finished I was already in the seat half asleep. Jeff shook his head and jumped in the driver's seat, stifling a yawn himself. He'd had a tough match and I could tell he was hurting; Stephanie had decided that due to all of the recent injuries, matches had to be longer between popular superstars. Jeff had been in a bout with CM Punk- which ironically ended in a no-contest when they both failed to answer the ten count. That was one of the things I disliked about the business- the lack of consideration for the people that matter. Hell, I'd been in that situation myself. Constantly helping the band out but being shat on. It wasn't nice and it didn't contribute to my sanity either. I remember Mark spent a long time trying to convince me to leave. The more I think about it, the more I start to realise that I'd already begun to make my decision.

_I couldn't believe that I'd just cheated on my husband and didn't feel a twinge of guilt. I let out a slow sigh as my head rested on Mark's chest and he absently ran his fingers through my hair._

"_What's wrong sweetie?" his deep voice questioned, penetrating my trail of thought. He didn't even look at me as he spoke; it seemed that my silence and lack of breath told the whole story._

"_I don't think I can take much more Mark…" I almost pleaded, feeling as though I was asking him for a way out. I saw his emerald eyes shimmer in the moonlight as he formulated an answer._

"_What do you wanna do with your life Tamsin?" he asked in an exasperated tone, his hands ceasing to stroke at my loose curls. Honestly, I'd been asking myself that same question for the past four years of my six-and-a-half year marriage. Sure I loved Jason, but I just wasn't **in **love with him…_

_I pushed myself off him and straightened up, tugging at the sheets to maintain some modestly. I could see Mark's gaze studying my features, looking for a flicker of emotion or any indication as to whether he had gone too far._

"_I wanna live it Mark." I replied simply, a stray tear gently burning a path on my skin. He didn't move. I could still see him staring at the ceiling with his hands supporting his head. He shifted slightly but didn't say a word._

"_I want to be able to brag to my friends about what a great marriage I have and tell them about the romantic things Jason does for me. I want to be able to wake up with a smile on my face every day because I'm waking up to the person I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with. I want a family, a proper one, you know? One day, I wanna wake up and not be able to see my feet… but it's not gonna happen."_

_I could feel my heart sink as I realised the amplitude of what I'd just admitted to myself. Things would never be perfect. I could see Mark battling with his feelings, wondering if it was the right time to comfort me or not. I guess he finally came to a decision, and he gently wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest as I sobbed silently. His chin rested on the top of my head as he made soothing hushing noises and tried to keep me calm._

"_You know what I want the most though?" I said quietly, feeling his head shake in response, "I wanna wake up one day and stop living a lie. I'd love to step outside one day with a genuine smile on my face. For once, I'd love it if he called it 'making love' instead of 'having sex'… I want my marriage back…"_

_He kissed the side of my head and rubbed my back, my frown slowly being replaced by a sorrowful smile. This was probably as good as it was gonna get._

I woke up the next morning feeling and looking like hell. The minute my head left the pillow a wave of nausea rushed over me and it immediately returned to it's resting place. It was almost a struggle getting my eyes to open, and I was so hot I felt ready to explode. I groaned, clumsily rubbed at my eyes with the back of my hand and squinting to make out the rest of the room. Right now I felt like I was living in a Picasso painting; nothing seemed to fit together and the more I tried to concentrate, the less sense things made.

"Holy shit." I grumbled, pushing myself up with my weak wrists. It was a weird sensation- kind of tickly but just not right. I then found myself laughing for no particular reason as I headed for the bathroom. Even though I knew where I wanted to be, my brain and feet weren't co-operating resulting in me clutching at the wall to get where I wanted to be. What the fuck was going on?

I swatted at my toothbrush but just ended up knocking it completely off the sink straight in the toilet bowl. I heard it land with a satisfying 'plink' and opened the cupboard for some mouthwash. Now, even though I knew that there was no point in reaching for the mouthwash when I hadn't cleaned my teeth, my brain didn't seem to register it and so to the average human it would appear that I just didn't care.

I downed half a bottle of my Listerine before I began to wretch, the burning concoction of alcohol and mint being rejected by my body. Wretching is probably the most intense workout I've ever had outside of the gym- my brain felt ready to pop out and my abs protested as they clenched to meet my body's demands. It was almost an outer body experience as I watched a green liquid spurt from my mouth into the sink and onto the floor. I doubled over in pain and clutched at my stomach as I crawled to the phone, eventually realising that something was wrong.

A knock at the door. I could hear it but my body couldn't do anything to get to it to let whoever it was inside. The sound of bone on wood resonated through my brain, and I opened my mouth to say something before it was attacked with dryness and my throat seemed to close up. It hadn't- I was simply panicking at the thought of being so out of control. I hadn't drunk anything the night before which ruled out a hangover and the days of weed were well and truly dead and buried. The person knocked again as I stretched with all my might, determined to make it. I could hear my shoulder separating at the dire effort, but I was desperate and I needed help. I was suddenly overcome with a wave of cold, equivalent to a large sheet of ice being wrapped around my body. Cold sweat collected on my brow and I began to shake violently.

"Haha, I guess she's just a little tired."

No! Don't walk away! I could hear the footsteps fading as I made one more attempt at getting help. I frantically clutched at the base of the tall lamp next to the bathroom door, yanking at it until it crashed to the floor. The footsteps returned to my door.

"Tamsin?! Is everything alright in there? Look, I'm gonna knock the door down, alright?"

A small muffled noise escaped me as I heard a foot connect with the lock and saw two pairs of formal dress shoes run in my direction. The first pair were collared with the black material of a suit, the second with white. Who the fuck puts a white suit and black shoes together?

"Oh shit, she's out of it. Tamsin? Say something to me!"

I could feel myself drifting in and out of consciousness, and it was driving me crazy. It was like being on a rollercoaster- literally. I could feel my stomach reaching my throat then returning to it's usual position.

"Hey sexy." I gabbled before I passed out.

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"I don't want a fucking sugar stick!"

I was tired of them all coddling me like I was 5 years old or something. Ok, so maybe I should fill you in on what happened. Basically, I'd forgotten to eat for the past couple of days which meant that every major vitamin, mineral and the like had almost completely depleted and my body went into shock. They'd stuck so many needles in me I felt like a fucking pin cushion and people wouldn't stop lecturing me on how important it was for me to look after myself. What they didn't seem to understand is that their lives had no major drama- I'd just walked out of my marriage with nothing more than a car and a bag of clothes. End of.

It turns out that Dave and Rey had found me sprawled out on the floor looking like death. Great. Especially considering that Dave revelled in the fact that I had directed my 'Hey sexy' comment at him. According to him he was the last thing I thought of before I shut off from the rest of the world. That asshole.

They only kept me in hospital for two days, and trust me, when I saw some of the other people in the joint I felt damn lucky. There was a girl next to me that could hardly move because anorexia had made her so weak. Every bone protruded through her skin and at night I could hear her protests that 'one pea could ruin her life'. It made me so unhappy to see such a young girl trapped by her self image to the point where she couldn't find the strength to live anymore.

"Suck on it and then you can go about your business."

Ok, I know I'm not the only person that thinks that sounds twisted. In reality, it was Jeff shoving the sugar stick in my face in an attempt to nurse me back to health. For most women it was a dream situation- Jeff Hardy at your every beck and call- topless. But for me it was just annoying. I was so exhausted but so bored. He'd literally put me on bedrest and only let me get up to take a shower and pee. He had this fear that he'd go out and I'd exercise or something. I really wanted to actually- my bones felt stiff and I wasn't feeling as supple as I did before. I know that was completely out of the question though considering the situation.

"Fine." I huffed, snatching it out of his hand and drawing a long suck of the thing. I made a point to slam it on the side table when I was done and ignore him after that, covering my head with the sheets and closing my eyes. I was ready to break. I could feel the tears stinging at my eyes and I know Jeff could see my shoulders shaking. I felt his weight at the end of the bed as he peeled off the sheets and held me to him.

"I know it hurts honey, but you need to get better…"

He rocked me to and fro, but no matter what he said I still felt bad. This was the sort of situation where my husband was meant to comfort me and run around for me. I'd never had that.

When I used to stay at home, I'd catch a fever or something and he wouldn't be there. He was always on tour or doing a promotion or something. I remember everything.

"_Hey Jase, it's Tammy… I feel like shit and the doctor said I've gotta stay home for a few days. Call me back when you get this."_

_I sighed and put the phone back on the receiver, heading to the fridge to take out my meds. I rushed to the living room when the phone rang._

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey Tammy, what's wrong? Jason just told me you're not feeling good."_

_Great. I called him but because he can't be bothered to call and speak to me himself he's gotten Ziggy to do it. That's how it always happened. Like the time I thought I was pregnant. Ziggy was the first person to call me from **Jason's **phone to get the details._

"_I think it's just a bug… it'll pass. Hey, where's Jase?"_

_I could hear the sound of a mouthed conversation going on before Ziggy returned to the phone._

"_He said he's a little busy but he'll call you later to check up on you. Look, I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later, alright?"_

"_Ok." I sighed._

I completely stiffened, my emotions closing up as I pushed Jeff away and wrapped my arms around myself. My whole marriage had been a virtual masturbation. Not seeing the logic behind that? Well in theory I was the unwanted girl that no one cared about enough to do, meaning that I had to spend all of my time trying to make myself happy. We both went into it young, free and pretty easy- but only for each other. There were times that we didn't leave bed for days or would go to hotels just for the luxury of room-service after sex. In the early days of Adrenaline, he'd mention the 'support system' he had at home and his 'wonderful wife' in every interview. Then he got his manager and things changed. She told him that mentioning his wife took away the 'fuck factor' for the teenage market, and so he had to stop doing and it and start taking off his wedding ring in public. Soon our marriage only happened behind closed doors. Once when we were seen in public together and snapped by the paparazzi, he was questioned by various interviewers and magazines.

"_We had a good thing going, if you know what I mean." he chuckled, the interviewer joining in._

"_So Jason, are you really as badass as people say?" she asked directly._

"_Sweetie, there's no such thing as badass. I'm just me. I just happen to be fortunate enough to have the bonus of any girl I want- including you. Wanna go for dinner?"_

_Roxie Summers laughed delicately as she silently mouthed a 'yes', Jason rubbing his hands together at the prospect._

"_Great! Interview over. Let's hit the steak!"_

I didn't contact him for a fortnight after I'd read that- not that he made any attempt to contact me anyway. He was too busy with his after show parties in the glitz and glamour of rock stardom. The band had hits with two songs that I had penned myself in my teen years, but never once did I ask for royalties or mention how much it hurt when they shrugged it off as 'just another one'. Those songs described some of my most fragile moments. It pissed me off to hear completely random people singing it and laughing, getting on with their lives as they reached for another Adrenaline CD or booked tickets for a concert.

"Tammy, this isn't good for you."

Jeff's voice broke me out of my reverie, my eyes glassy and my face expressionless. I continued to stare at the wall, hope that I could burn a whole through it and maybe escape the life I had now.

"Ok, well if you're not going to talk to me I'm going to do something about it. That asshole's got it coming to him. Oh yeah… 'Vince, I think it would be a great idea to get the lead singer of Adrenaline to have a one fall match at a PPV. What? They're making the music for the next PPV. _Great!'_"

A small chuckle escaped me, although nearly completely lost under the cascade of tears rolling down my face. When the hell was I going to get it together?

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"Tammy, I'm going out."

Oh my, those were words to my ears. Jeff needed a break and god knows, so did I. I watched with glee as Jeff pulled on his Nike hooded top and headed for the door.

"What time will you be back?" I asked loosely, making sure he could hear the fact that I couldn't care less.

"Tomorrow morning," hr replied as I ran up to him and gave him a violent kiss no his cheek, "Don't get too excited though."

He could see my face drop as my kiss turned into a pinch on the cheek.

"Look, I'm sorry but I can't take any risks. So I got Dave to watch after you during the night. He'll be here in five minutes."

He gave me a brief hug and kiss on the side of my head before walking out of the door, not forgetting to send me a warning glance.

As soon as I heard the elevator close I was in my bedroom like a shot, pulling on any clothes I could reach. I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder- I could almost taste the freedom. I hadn't touched a tree in so long, and when I got outside I was gonna hump that thing. I ran for the door and made two steps outside before two huge arms wrapped around me and carried me inside.

"Holy shit Tammy, Jeff said it would take at least an hour for you to try and escape."

I saw him roll his eyes with an amused expression as I thrashed in a frenzied attempt to escape, but to no avail.

"Awh Tammy, you're hurting my feelings. I thought you and me were going to have some fun!"

_Oh hell._

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**Well, there's another chapter. I'm sorry about the delay but I had a lot of stuff going on that needed my attention. As always, please R&R… it encourages me to write as I'm sure it does any writer.**

**Lil' Miss Cena**


	4. Chapter 4

-1**A/N**

**I think university has sparked my creative side. Thanks to everybody that reviewed- they made my day! As always, read and review. **

Chapter 4

Uncomfortable silence.

This was definitely the last thing I was expecting out of the situation, but I thought to make the most out of it and use the opportunity to tuck-tail and run. I really had nothing to say to Dave; my childish side was really beginning to show but I didn't care at all. David Michael Bautista was keeping me from freedom, and no matter how hot he wasn't going to get away with it. I eased myself off of the brown leather couch and made my way to the bathroom, his eyes burning into me.

"Just keep calm. Nothing's gonna happen. I mean, come on- you've known him for what? A week?" I muttered to myself as I ran the cold water and splashed some on my face to disguise the red creeping up into my cheeks. I don't know why I was worrying so much anyway. In my animal print pyjamas and fluffy bunny slippers, I was far from the designer clad supermodels I'm sure he was used to dating.

"Tamsin? Everything alright in there?"

The sound of his voice made my heart rate soar, resulting in the perfume bottle on the shelf being knocked into the sink with a loud clinking noise. I could hear him get up from his seat, visualising his coffee coloured eyes darting towards the door and his brow creasing in concern.

"E-Everything's f-fine Dave. Everything's fine." I managed to squeak out nervously, grabbing at the perfume bottle and cursing for giving him a reason to patrol the bathroom. I fixed myself up as well as I could given the situation and gave myself a silent pep talk before opening the door to find a less than amused Dave stood beside it. I did my best to ignore him and kept my eyes locked on where I wanted to be.

"You know, if I've done something wrong all you have to do is tell me and I won't do it again."

I stopped in my tracks. I didn't think I could live with the guilt I would feel knowing he was feeling shitty because of me. Nevertheless, I let out a short sigh and sat back on the couch, tucking my feet under me and turning the TV on. When did I become so insensitive? I was treating Dave like a canker sore just because he evoked emotions that I didn't want to feel anymore. I felt even worse knowing that he was still in the same place, looking at me expectantly and waiting for an answer.

"I don't need your help and I don't need you around, so just go home to your perfect life Dave, and leave me the hell alone!" I sneered, my voice cold and detached even though I didn't mean for it to sound that way. I braced myself for the onslaught of words that was sure to follow, yet there were none. Instead I could see Dave advance on me, finally crouching in front of me. I continued to stare the TV, even though I had no idea what I was watching and really didn't care anyway.

I could feel my face burning up, his eye contact never ceasing. He was making me feel ashamed of myself and he hadn't said one word. Tolerance is definitely the most effective way of getting to somebody; I recollected every argument I had ever had involving a lot of shouting and verbal ping pong. Here there was none of that, and it was making me uncomfortable. I moved to get up again, my plan being intercepted when his muscular arm shot out in front of me and kept me in my seat.

"Tamsin, look at me." he said softly, cupping my chin with his hand when I refused to do so. I did everything to ensure that eye contact was avoided, but eventually I could feel my eyes stinging as I strained to keep them focused on the thousands of pixels concealed beneath the glass. In that brief moment of weakness, our eyes locked and I couldn't seem to look away. I'm guessing Dave could see the confusion and uncertainty behind them.

"What are you so afraid of?"

That one question had my mind buzzing. I wasn't even dying, yet I could see my life flashing before my very eyes. I didn't have much of a tragic childhood, not by any means. Usually, everything reverts back to that, right?

"I'm not afraid of anything, so can you stop trying to psychoanalyse me please?"

It was meant to be a statement within a question, but instead my proclamation came out whiney and immature. I forced out a yawn and covered my mouth in an attempt to feign tiredness, but Dave was having none of it.

"Jeff's asked me to look after you, so that's what I'm gonna do," he explained, taking both of my hands and placing them in his, "I'm not trying to patronise you or make you feel bad about yourself alright?"

I nodded weakly and sighed as he let go of my hands and sat opposite me.

"Where did you get the impression that my life was so perfect anyhow?" he asked with a small smirk crossing his features when he realised that I'd thought he had forgotten.

"Forget it Dave, please." I retorted harshly, feeling that I'd been treated like a child and he had no right to speak to me.

"No, really Tamsin. Life's not a picnic for me. Not at all."

I rolled my eyes signifying the _'yeah right'_ that was battling to escape through my lips. I couldn't see what could possibly be wrong with his life. He had women practically falling at his feet and a job that paid more money than it was worth. He'd truly been blessed in the looks and physique department, not to mention the intelligence that lurked behind his eyes.

"Do me a favour Dave- don't try and bullshit me about how difficult things are for you to try and make me feel better. Life is going great for you and you know it, so quit with the 'hard done by' act."

I could see him shift in his seat as he prepared to give me a speech on why I was wrong. I knew I was wrong anyway; things weren't easy for Dave at all.

"Look. I spend 360 days of the year on the road which gives me virtually NO time with my family at all. I've missed my sister's wedding and the birth of my daughter for this business, and they're things that I'll never get back. My little girl won't even speak to me anymore because her mother's spending all of her time poisoning her mind and telling me what a useless father I am. Do you know how much that hurts Tamsin?"

Quite frankly, I was flawed. I knew about his wife but had never considered the fact that he may have had children or a life outside of WWE.

"I'm sorry to hear that Dave but right now you're not my main concern."

Can somebody remind me why exactly I was being so blunt? Here I had Batista telling me about his troubles in an effort to make me communicate and I was being a complete bitch.

"So what is your main concern then? Something's on your mind and I'm going to find out about it whether you like it or not."

By now he had me well and truly boxed in a corner. Literally. Whoever's idea it was to put the couch in the corner of the room facing the plasma screen TV and the cream coloured wall behind should be shot. I looked directly at him, fire in my eyes as I spoke the words I'd been wanting to get out for years.

"You wanna know what's on my mind, asshole? It's you. Not you, yet you. Fuck it, I don't make any sense…" I shook my head and berated myself as I managed to fuck up the one perfect moment to say what had been eating away at me.

"No, continue…" Dave prompted, unconsciously leaning in so he could catch every word.

"I've always been told I'm not good enough. I never got the best grades, the boys I wanted or the job I wanted. I _wanted _to be a model, but they turned me down because I wasn't 'what they were looking for'. When I met Jason, I was fragile. I couldn't believe that a boy like him wanted to be with a girl like me," I laughed aloud as my eyes went glassy as I recalled my teenage years, "I'll never forget my prom. Everybody kept looking at us, wondering why Jason was with a nobody. But he kept hold of my hand and refused to dance with anybody other than me that night,"

This time it was a detached smile that crossed my features, my brow furrowing in confusion as I contemplated how things went so wrong.

"Then… at the end of the night he gave me my first kiss. It was so sweet and delicate, like he was afraid to break me. He drove me right up to my front door and even thanked my mother for letting him take me out."

_I collapsed onto my bed with a huge smile on my face as I recollected the events of the night. I looked at my cornflower blue silk prom dress hung up in my wardrobe and let out a sigh. Everything had been so beautiful. I rested my head on my pillow and pulled the sheets over me even though I had no desire to sleep. It was so silent and still outside, with the exception of tiny stones tapping at my window._

"_What the…?" I questioned and reached for my dressing gown, my eyes squinting as I opened the curtain to be greeted by the harsh streetlights. I couldn't see anything unusual, and turned to go back to bed just as another stone made contact with glass. I fully opened the window this time and peered below, only to be met with the handsome sight of a casually dressed Jason with a smirk on his face._

"_Wanna come out?" he asked simply, me shaking my head in response in an attempt to stop myself from looking desperate._

"_It'll just be you and me at my house. I wanna talk to you about something." he pleaded, retrieving his BMX from the side of my wall and perching himself atop it._

"_We can **talk **here," I replied with a smirk of my own, Jason nodding although unconvinced._

"_Really Tamsin, I don't wanna ask here. I wouldn't make you come with me if it wasn't important, I promise…" he responded as I rolled my eyes and signalled 'one minute'. I made no attempt to rush at slipping some jeans on and finding a decent top to wear. When I was done I crept downstairs and ran the tap to trick my mom into believing I'd gone down for a glass of water. I reached for my keys on the wooden table top, cursing when the hit the ground with a loud jangle._

"_What's going on down there?" my mom yawned causing me to panic._

"_Nothing mom, just getting a glass of water!" I shouted back up, stuffing the keys in my back pocket and waiting a few minutes before opening the door and exiting._

"_Took you long enough."_

_I jumped as the voice spoke into my ear whilst I locked the door. I turned into Jason's kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him in closer. I could feel his tongue begging my lips for entry and they gave him permission, slightly parting as he explored my mouth- a strange sensation I must admit. We both pulled apart (albeit a little out of breath) and analysed each other's face for a moment. I gazed into his blue orbs as he searched my brown ones, taking my hand and seating me on his BMX before riding down the street a couple of blocks away._

"He asked me to be his girlfriend that night," I mused, an empty smile matching an empty heart. I could see Dave's hands cushioning his head and guessed he was recalling his high school days.

"I guess I just have a problem with feeling wanted, you know? That's what I didn't understand Dave. Why the hell are you interested in me? You've got runway models and porn stars backstage… why the hell me?"

Well, that was it. I'd put myself out there and now all I had to do was wait for Dave to shoot me down. He didn't move at all, but continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Why not?" he replied.

Why not? _Why not? _Is it just me, or had I not just given him a ten minute explanation as to why I couldn't understand his motives? I sighed and got off the chair, heading straight to the kitchen and opening a bottle of soda.

"You know what, just forget about it. Wanna watch a movie?" I asked.

_Asshole._

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"Tamsin… Tamsin! Wake up honey, you gotta go to bed!"

My eyes shot open as I assessed the situation I was currently in. I resigned myself to accepting that I had indeed fallen asleep during the one movie I'd wanted to watch more than anything. Shit. What I couldn't accept, however, was that I had found myself rather comfortably resting my head on the chest of one David Batista, hands entwined and all. Double shit. I figured out that feigning tiredness would let him know I wasn't conscious of what was going on, but for some reason faking a yawn just wouldn't cut it.

"W-what time is it?" I uttered groggily, hoping he was buying it. My hopes were dashed when I saw a self-satisfied smile flit across his face, disappearing as fast as it had been there.

"3.20am. You're a lightweight." he commented, stretching a little but not making any effort to let me go. Seeing where things were heading I took the initiative and pushed myself off of him, doing a little stretching of my own, and began to clear away the popcorn and cola.

"Hey, let me do that. You're meant to be resting…" he said softly, taking the cans from my hand and letting them linger a little longer than they needed to. I jerked away from the sensation of his skin on mine, acting as nothing had happened and rushing to the kitchen to put the stuff in the sink. Now maybe it was the fatigue, but I was finding it harder and harder to dislike the man as time went on.

"So, you spending the night or what?"

I winced at my own words, although he seemed to find them amusing. The tension in the room rivalled that of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie on a bad day, although exactly what kind of tension could be interpreted in a number of different ways.

Basically- I wanted to jump him. At some point during the night he'd removed his top, probably because of the immense heat being trapped in by the windows. I'm not going to lie- I'd never seen a body quite like it. On the other hand, no husband and breaking things off with Mark mean that sex was not the first thing on the agenda anymore, which was probably a good thing- at one point I made a pretty impressive whore.

"I guess I'll have to; Jeff told me to wait for him to come back, and God knows when that'll be,"

I did, and I wasn't happy. Remember this?

"_What time will you be back?" I asked loosely, making sure he could hear the fact that I couldn't care less._

"_Tomorrow morning,"_

Good one Jeffrey, good one.

"He'll probably be back in a few minutes… look, I don't wanna waste your time over here. Why don't you go to your room and relax a little? I'll be fine on my own I swear," I attempted to convince him, although I could see he wasn't buying any of it. Truth be told I still wanted to hump that tree.

Dave stepped right up to me, looking me square in the eyes and lifting my chin so I could here every word. Wow, I didn't know my heart could beat _that_ fast.

"Tamsin," he almost murmered, the deep baritone of his voice easing me into the sentence. I gave him a small nod so he knew that he had my attention, "I'm not… going… anywhere. So you can stop trying to get rid of me and get used to the fact that I'm here until Hardy gets back, alright Sweet Cheeks?"

Then, he kissed me.

**On the head.**

Like I was a fucking child. I was partially stunned by the move, unable to say anything. Even when I eventually managed to open my mouth all that could form were a string of inaudible sounds. Dave ambled back to the sofa, moving the remote control out of the way and taking a seat, his eyes transfixed on the screen like I wasn't even there. I was so wound up, I didn't quite know _what _to do with myself. So I settled on one thing and stuck with it. Taking in a deep breath I swallowed any nervousness that remained on my tongue and stormed over to him, smacking him around the back of the head and launching into my verbal attack.

"Dave. You need to fucking understand a few things before you try and patronise me, ok? I've been stuck inside for the past 6 days because I happened to make friends with an overprotective rainbow haired… _child_," I spat out the last word as the image of him kissing me on the head came into full view, "I've hardly had contact with the outside world and all I wanna do right now is walk outside, pick a flower and inhale some fucking fresh air! But can I do that? No! I can't!"

"Tamsin, all-"

"No! Shut the fuck up Dave, I'm not done yet!" Man, I was frustrated. Even I didn't know how shitty I was feeling until I opened my mouth, "All I've had for the past few days is people coming in to visit me and make sure I fucking eat. _Eat eat eat eat _EAT!"

Ok- open mouth, insert foot. I'm pretty sure I was coming off as a complete nutcase, but I needed to get some things off my chest and it was going to happen whether he liked it or not.

"I'm not fucking bulimic. I was just a little stressed out, and now I'm all better. See?"

Ok, not the best time to try and make that point but hey! I was desperate alright…

"So Dave, don't try and fucking tell me what to do, because _you _don't know what this feels like. You don't know at all."

My last words were quiet and resigned. Maybe I was having a nervous breakdown? Dave sat and listened, simply nodding his head as he took in everything I'd just got out of my system. It felt good to finally tell someone- it really did. Don't get me wrong; Jeff was probably one of the nicest people I'd ever met, but he was so nice that it was difficult to tell him what was wrong for fear of upsetting him. He's very 'in touch' with his emotions, which means that me telling him all this probably would have broken his young heart. I was so lost in my thoughts I completely missed it when Dave had risen from his seat to stand in front of me, me lifting my head to meet his gaze.

"You don't have to tell me about being stuck inside Tamsin, it sucks! I know that- I do fight for a living don't forget. I can't tell you the number of times I've been laid up because of some stupid injury… the only difference is I didn't have people wanting to help me like you do."

He could see I couldn't really understand what he meant so he continued,

"When I ripped my triceps, I had to go home to a wife that didn't really want me around. She spent the whole 8 months telling me why I shouldn't wrestle anymore and reminding me that every day I was sat down on my ass I was slipping further away from my daughter. _That _hurt. Consider yourself lucky lady."

He finished with a dismissive laugh, if it could even be called that. His head was completely transfixed on the ground- I guess he was reflecting in what he'd said or something. I'm not the best when it comes to body language or reading emotions.

I didn't really know what to do… I just stood there thinking of something intelligent to say. When I couldn't think of anything, I did the next best thing.

"Dave?"

I heard him sniff and swipe at his nose with his index finger. He still wouldn't look up.

"Dave, if you don't look up now I'm going to _make _you look up." I threatened. As soon as he lifted his head my lips caught his in a slow, sensual kiss. My hands softly grasped at his forearms as our tongues entwined, not once fighting for dominance. Even though it wasn't the most ferocious or heated kisses, we were both left trying to catch our breath wondering what had just happened. We studied each other's features; I could see the hurt and pain concealed within his eyes, and it broke my heart.

"Don't _ever _let her make you feel like that again. You're better than that." I whispered, giving him a kiss on the cheek and going to bed as I swiped at the tears sliding down my face.

OoOoOoOoO

**Another chapter- DONE!**

**I'm happy with this one. I can't tell you how important reviews are to me. PLEASE tell me what you're thinking. I've never written a fic like this before and I want to know if it's working or not or if there's anything I could improve on.**

**Lil' Miss Cena**


	5. Chapter 5

-1**A/N**

**Thankyou all SO much for your reviews! Holy shit- chapter 5 already? Hot damn! This one goes out to Shannygoat. As always, please read and review.**

Chapter 5

The days following were pretty uneventful, to say the least. After Dave left the next morning, Jeff decided that I was well enough to be let off my leash and apologised for smothering me. Of course I denied he was doing any such thing, especially after the talk with Dave made me put things in perspective. Gone were the days of me whining and moaning about nothing- I was determined to be as positive as possible and let my friends know just how much I appreciated them.

Jeff was the first on my list- and I knew just what to do to show my gratitude. You see, despite all of the wrestlers I know personally, I myself find it hard to sit through more than one match. To me it all looks the same; they'll slap each other around a few times, chat shit and eventually they'll be a winner. It's just not my kind of thing. Which is exactly why I planned to randomly show my face at Wrestlemania to cheer him on in his ladder match. Of course, I had to pull a few strings to get in; the show was sold out and Vince was adamant that he didn't want too many people wondering around backstage in case anything went wrong.

Everybody was so focused leading up to the big pay-per-view it was kind of scary. Jeff spent much of his time outside with his iPod on, testing his balance on ledges that could easily lead him to his death if he was to fall. He kept his eyes shut the whole time, occasionally humming the tune running around inside his head, whatever it chose to be. I kept completely silent, somehow getting a vibe that this was not a time to disturb him. The silence was broken however, when my cell emitted possibly the loudest ringtone known to man. God knows I nearly had a heart attack in a frenzied attempt to keep Jeffrey 'in the zone'. I sprinted inside, flipping it open and flinging myself on the couch.

"Hello?" I asked, panting heavily as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Hi darlin'… I'd ask what you're up to but I think it pretty clear that-"

"It's pretty clear _nothing _you dirty minded redneck! What do you want?" I fired out with a smirk on my face, rather amused by what Mark was implying. I heard his deep chuckle vibrate through the receiver,

"Nothin' much. Just callin' to see how things are."

At this point I glanced out of the window to see Jeff sprawled out on the floor, breathing heavily and nursing his ankle.

"Well Jeff's in a crazy mood and then some. I don't understand why all of you get worked up about _one _night. Everything's pre-determined anyway; not really worth killing yourself for." I added the last part seeing Jeff wince as he prodded the affected body part, motioning for me to come over.

"Look Mark, I've gotta go. I'll call you back later." I rushed out in what probably sounded like an uneven mesh of words. I was concerned for my rainbow haired friend, especially knowing how much he relied on his lower body to pull off the amazing stunts he did in the ring.

"Alright honey. Talk to you later."

I cut the call and trekked to the first aid cupboard to find a wrap-around bandage which I was sure I'd have to use.

"What happened?" was my first inquiry, seeing as I'd hardly been paying attention when he'd injured himself.

"Ankle… twisted. Fuck." he hissed, obviously in pain as I gently applied pressure on either side to test how bad things were.

"It's just a sprain Jeff- don't worry you'll be able to wrestle on it fine. Just stay off it for the next few days." I advised. I quickly wrapped the bandage around it and helped him back inside, handing him his cell. He sent me a bewildered look.

"_You _need to call Matt and tell him that there's no way you're hitting the gym tomorrow. If you fuck up that ankle I'll kill you myself." I warned with a mock serious look, snatching it out of his hand and tapping Matt's number in. I left to go the bedroom and to give him some privacy for a while, taking my make up off and climbing into bed. I didn't give a shit that it was 3.30 in the afternoon- I was tired, bored and had nothing else to do with my time.

When I woke up Jeff had gone and I had a missed call from Matt. I called him back and he told me that he was coming over to see how I was doing. Great. Essentially that meant me having to put some new clothes on and applying some form of cosmetic to make myself look half decent. After five minutes, more than a few swear words and a huge heap of clothes strewn about the floor, I settled on a casual white summer dress- it was only 5pm and as bright as a bulb outside. Lazily, I applied a thin layer of mascara on my eyelashes and a nude pink gloss to my lips just in time to hear a knock at the door.

"Jeff, can you get that?" I shouted as I stabbed myself with a stubborn pearl earring. I heard him limp then stop and went into the front room to investigate, finding him seated on the couch with a rueful grin on his face.

"I'll take that as a 'no' then Jeffrey… I hope you break the damn thing…" I muttered vengefully, flinging the door open. I greeted Matt with a huge smile, giving him a quick hug and ushering him in. What I didn't expect was for Ashley to trail in behind him, shutting the door behind herself and plumping up her hair with manicured fingernails.

"Tammy, how's things?" Matt asked, practically throwing himself beside Jeff and wiping at the sweat collecting on his brow. I plastered on a fake smile and placed my hands on my hips.

"I'm good Matt, I'm good… if I would have known we were going to have _guests_ I would have made more of an effort."

I heard Ashley snort at this yet Matt seemed completely oblivious to the blistering tension in the air. I was yet to offer the bitch a seat and I intended to leave it to Matt to take care of her. How dare she turn up unannounced? How fucking _dare_ she? She knew I hated her skanky ass- it's bad enough that she thinks she's part of the family because she dating a Hardy. Oh yeah, I heard her declare herself as a family member backstage while she was having a talk with one of the Divas… Jillian I think her name was.

_She adjusted her bra strap and reached for the bronzing balls, lightly powdering her face to take the edge off her dramatic make up a little._

"_Oh yeah Jilly, it won't be long before we get married I'm sure. He's already calling me Mrs Hardy," she let out a soft chuckle and placed her punk cap on her head, turning it to the side and kissing Jillian on the cheek, "See you out there honey!"_

_I stood at the opposite end of the room confused to say the least. How could she be such a bitch one moment and then pretty normal looking the next? I'm not going to lie when I say that she definitely had the look of love in her eyes when she spoke about her relationship with Matt. It would have been so endearing if it wasn't her._

"_Is she always that nice?" I asked, Jillian jerking around at my voice and smiling a little._

"_Yeah, pretty much. She's been having these moods lately but I think it's because the new Diva Search for this year is happening soon."_

_A competition was making her crabby? I didn't know what to think about her anymore- maybe she just had a problem with me, perhaps? _

"_But she's already a Diva… why the hell should she get worked up about it?" I asked as I grabbed a seat and placed myself on it, thankful to be off my feet._

"_There are a lot of cuts around this time of year… being a Diva in this business is like constantly being on probation or something. It's usually the previous Diva Search contestants that get dropped first and then the really shitty Divas last,"_

_I nodded and opened my mouth to ask a question but Jillian interrupted and answered it for me in an instant,_

"_I know what you're thinking- she won so she doesn't have anything to worry about, right?"_

_The look on my face clarified her suspicions,_

"_Last year, Christy Hemme won the Diva Search and by the next year she was gone- and she could actually wrestle. Ashley has a reason to be worried; hell, so do I."_

"_Then why don't you seem so worried about it?" I enquired, noting how calmly she'd explained the situation to me._

"_Honey, I'm lucky to be here in the first place. I'm not the most toned, the most beautiful **or **the most athletic- I'm taking whatever they'll give me. I have a kid so the minute they drop me I'm going back to being a good mommy for my little girl."_

_That really made me smile, although it was disheartening to know that she didn't think very highly of herself. I then realised something; friends or no friends, all of these women were competing with each other. Competing for the best storylines, crowd pops, job titles… everything._

Recalling what had happened, some in my mind snapped and I told myself that Ashley already had enough to deal with without me being a bitch towards her. Courteous or not at my arrival, I decided to be the better woman and pulled up a seat, indicating that she should sit on it. She sent me an untrusting glance, testing the seat with her hand for stability then making the decision to perch herself on the edge. I myself remained standing, turning to Matt to get his opinion on dinner.

"Am I cooking?" I asked him as he nodded and sent me a kiss through the air. Sometimes he's such a child.

"Any preferences?" I questioned, specifically turning to Ashley. She was too thin; I was completely jealous, "Ashley?"

Her head snapped up as she looked me in the eye with nervousness and mouthed a silent 'me?'. I nodded and sent her a reassuring smile to encourage her to voice her opinion on matters.

"I eat anything." she mumbled under her breath. Man, there were so many things I could have said in reply to that, yet I held my breath and kept my smile in place.

"Ok then fine: chicken it is."

That provoked a chorus of belly laughs from the two brothers, who both knew full well that anything other than chicken cooked by me was sure to be a disaster. I turned and was about to exit when Matt piped up,

"Ashley can go help you- maybe you can get to know each other a little better."

At that suggestion it took everything I had not to throw a vase of flowers at his head. Nevertheless I ushered Ashley into the kitchen, closing the door behind us.

It was very awkward, as I opened the freezer silently and began to prepare the food without acknowledging her. She seem to be thinking about something- but the sort of thinking you do when you're trying to block someone or something out. I reached for the paprika, which involved getting on my tip toes and stretching my arm over her head. I was in such a mood I couldn't be bothered to ask her to move.

Finally tired of the standoff, I began to speak as I chopped to tomatoes and added them to the pan.

"So… Ashley. Want to explain what your problem is with me?" I mentioned casually, smirking at the startled look on her face. See, that's what I'd always been told as a child; confront the bullies head on, it's the least they'll expect. For once it seemed to be working- the expectation part anyway… she still hadn't said one word.

"I mean," I continued, "have I actually done something to piss you off or is it 'that time of the month'? Because to be quite honest I think it's a little rude that you expect to walk into my home and treat me like shit."

Still, nothing.

"Please, just say something. Explain yourself. I don't expect to be abused by someone I hardly know just for being the new girl backstage."

Nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing. I could tell she could hear what I was saying though- there were tears welling up in her eyes and she was trying to disguise the fact that she was wiping her nose with the back of her finger. Her gaze was fixed upon the ground and her hands were inside the pockets of her black combats. It was at that moment that she reminded me of myself when I was young; never quite knowing the right things to say but when actually _choosing _to open my mouth, offending somebody or fucking something up.

"Well, I'm not trying to take Matthew from you if that's what you're worried about. That boy's like my damn brother…" I chuckled to myself, all of a sudden my horrible mood lifting. I moved on to peeling carrots whilst bopping my head to the tune floating around inside my head when Ashley decided to speak up.

"I've worked so damn hard to get into this business… now they're just giving anyone a chance…"

Ah, so that was her problem; she though I was a new diva that was already in with Jeff and Matt and was therefore bound to take her place in the WWE hierarchy. I didn't bother to correct, instead letting her get it all out.

"I used to think I had talent until I came in here. All Vince does is tell me to strip down and lick my tits for 'entertainment'. He even told me that I wasn't Trish or Lita, so I didn't have to worry about wrestling for now. I wanted to work my way up in the company- I _wanted _to be discovered at my wrestling school and scouted like the women I look up to."

I carried on preparing the food but was listening intently. She obviously had a huge passion for wrestling, and it was crushing her that she couldn't act on it and show people how good she really was. She went silent again, her hazel eyes squinting in disappointment. I waved the knife about as I gave her my advice. Everyone knows I'm always right.

"Too much… what do you call it? Erm, resentment Ashley." I began, stopping what I was doing and leaning against the kitchen counter, arms crossed.

"Quit moaning about what you _don't_ have and concentrate on what you _do_. Hell, if I got paid half the money you do to act like a slut I'd be one happy woman! You've got great tits, a figure I'd murder for, a boyfriend that's willing to do anything for you and a support system that I'm not sure even you're aware of. Suck it up and spread your legs bitch. Oh, and for the record; I'm not a Diva so I hope you feel like an asshole for being hostile towards me the other day."

I popped the chicken in the oven and left her in the kitchen to think about what I'd just said. I'd never get along with her; she's the type of woman Jason would go for. Leggy, blonde, bitchy… I'd still act like I liked her just for Matt though.

She emerged from the kitchen a few minutes later, using the excuse that she'd been washing her hands. Matt looked at me and I gave him a silent clarification. We sat and talked for a while (Matt, Jeff and I… Ashley was only speaking when spoken to), and before I knew it dinner was ready. I passed Ashley on my way, stopping beside her and whispering to her,

"Don't speak to me again unless Matt wants to hear us chat shit. He might be smitten but I'm not."

She nodded quickly as if I'd poured a death threat into her ear and gulped.

"Ok, who's ready for dinner?"

OoOoOoOoO

I couldn't believe it was here already; WrestleMania. Despite it being well over eight hours until the show started, there was a thousand-strong line of fans hoping to catch a photo or an autograph with their favourite superstar. It was a rather claustrophobic atmosphere as they all gathered inside the parking lot, eyes glued to every car that passed in case it was who they were waiting for.

Apparently, I wasn't their superstar of choice. As soon as I pulled up they rushed towards me, sighing and groaning when they saw that it wasn't who they wanted at all. I grabbed the stuff out of my boot and made sure I took my backstage pass with me, dodging hyper fans on my way to the back entrance.

To my horror, gathered outside of the wrought-iron gates were the one set of people that I had only recently learnt were my enemies. My heart began to beat fast, sweat collecting on my brow as I frantically searched my bag for my sunglasses. Once I found them I nearly snapped them in half in the rush to put them on and get inside.

They were ready and waiting like a pack of wolves, salivating at the smell of fresh blood approaching. My eyes flitted between them nervously, silently praying that they didn't realise who was passing.

In one coincidental moment of weakness the sunglasses slipped to the end of my nose, and that was it. Game over. I ran for it but it was no use. They were blocking the entrance, camera bulbs flashing all over the place and the babble of reporters crashing into my eardrums, all trying to make sense at once.

"Where's Jason?"

"Have you heard Jason has a new girlfriend?"

"Have you filed for divorce?"

"Did he have an affair?"

"Did you have an affair?"

"Tamsin! Tamsin! We've received reports that you are pregnant by a wrestler here in the WWE, care to comment?"

"Are you filing for copyright at all?"

"Are those new shoes?"

They were all closing in on me, and had me well and truly backed into a corner. The paparazzi were out to get me. How could I be so stupid, eh? _Of course _they were going to want to know what went on; hell- so did I. What the fuck? Jason has a new girlfriend? Huh? And who the hell said that I was cheating on him? Pregnant- was I fat or something?

My mouth opened and closed wordlessly, much like a fish gasping for air. They needed to back away, let me have my space. I could feel tears pricking the back of my eyes and before I knew it they were cascading down my face, photographer taking full advantage of my apparent 'breakdown' so to speak. I completely crumpled into the corner, bringing my knees up to my chest and burying my head inbetween my legs. I didn't want them to see me like this- at possibly the lowest point in my life so far. Why couldn't they have been there when I was jogging in the park? Or when I went bowling with Mark and kicked his ass?

I was pretty sure my head was spinning. Or maybe the room was getting smaller? All I know is that the flashes began to disappear and the babble died down until there was only one voice.

"Tamsin, are you alright?"

I felt whomever it was retrieve my bags for me and help me up. It was a big hand, with a wedding band indentation clearly visible. It was a suit, grey in colour with shoes that complemented it quite nicely for once.

It was.

"Dave?" I asked, squinting my eyes.

_Things just got a whole lot more complicated._

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Right, that's it for another chapter. PLEASE read and review, it means a lot to me and encourages me to write more!**

**Until next time,**

**Lil' Miss Cena**


	6. Chapter 6

-1**A/N:**

**This has been a LONG TIME coming, but I've finally got things into focus and I've decided to give some time to my fics. My sincerest apologies for the hiatus, I'm back on track now.**

Chapter 6

It took me half an hour to simply regain my composure- yet my eyesight was another thing entirely. For one, I wanted to believe that Dave being my knight in an Armani suit was just a hallucination and that perhaps the photographers had mustered the grace to leave me on the floor. Right about now the floor seemed marginally more comfortable than the cushioning of Dave's rock hard muscles- my, what an oxymoron if there ever was one. If it had been anybody else I would have felt safe, but with him I didn't know _what _to do. I just wish he'd stop fucking saving me all the time.

"I _was _fine out there, you do know that right?" I mumbled as he put me down, brushing myself off and trying to maintain some dignity. All I got from that bastard was a chuckle; one of those deep throaty ones that let me know he wasn't buying into any of my bullshit.

He grabbed a roll of white tape from the wooden shelf beside him and proceeded to wrap it around his wrist, a smug expression plastered on his features the whole time. I quite honestly didn't know where to look- moving from my current position would make him feel powerful, yet sitting there in the first place made me feel weak. I made a mental decision to shrug off any doubts and jumped out of my seat, heading straight for the door and sighing with relief once I was outside.

I made a point to more or less run from his locker room door, my white heels clicking as I made my hurried escape.

I reminded myself that sooner or later running away wasn't going to be an option anymore, but I was willing to hold it off for as long as possible. I turned the corner and took a seat near the curtain, the hustle and bustle of busy stagehands crashing against my eardrums. It gave me time to reflect on everything that had happened.

The press were out to get me; whether I liked it or not.

"Oh _shit_… fuck… fuck!" I muttered to myself when I replayed what happened. Dave had shown his face at possibly the worst time- magazines and newspapers were going to have a field day. I was pretty much fucked; by tomorrow most of the world were going to think I was dating Dave Batista. It sounds so stupid but the thought upset me greatly. I prided myself on my kind and honest personality but now that the public's perception of me was going to be distorted I wasn't looking forward to the backlash. I didn't cheat- my fling with Mark was called for and at the time technically myself and Jason were on a trial separation. I didn't want to be seen as just as bad as that two-faced bastard.

My eyes darted to every wall as if they were to give me an answer, my face hot with the thought of the journalists typing up their scoops and salivating at the opportunity to humiliate me.

"Time to face the music I guess."

I jumped at the deep rumble behind me, sighing with relief when I identified it as Mark.

"He really likes you."

I nodded in acknowledgment, my fist resting under my chin as I contemplated what to do. I didn't really understand why Mark felt the need to make the observation after the warning he'd given me previously. He sat down on the floor beside me and silence engulfed the scene, only slightly shattered by the rapping of Mark's fingers against his water bottle.

"What can I do?" I piped up suddenly, Mark chuckling and repositioning himself slightly ready to give an answer.

"There's nothing you can do darlin'," he mused, the silence taking over again.

I always suspected I was cursed, from a very young age. Born by C-section because I was a breach kid, chased the cat into the road when I was 5 and watched it get squashed by a garbage truck… things never really did go my way.

"I'm not like that Mark… they're all gonna think-"

"This goes far beyond what the media think Tamsin," he interrupted, looking me right in the eyes, "Forget all that bullshit right now. What you need to figure out is whether this thing is for real… if you're leadin' him on it's best you tell him now."

He got up, brushed himself off and walked away, my mind reeling as I considered what he had just said. I had far surpassed the point of wondering when Mark had figured out there was something going on between Dave and myself- that man knew everything. Being a naturally cautious person, the moment Dave had approached me I'd built a barrier between us. Unfortunately, I had now came to realise that he perceived this barrier to be broken the moment our lips connected. I felt something for him, absolutely. But was I willing to put myself out there when there was so much shit going on?

' "_Time to face the music I guess." '_

Never had anything so true been spoken, for the minute I looked up there was Dave stood before me, an angry expression dominating his features. I'd seen him happy, sad, reflective, conflicted… but never angry.

What the fuck could I say? I'd freaked out and left him when he'd gone out of his way to help me. Boy did I feel like shit.

"Dave, listen." I began abruptly as he crossed his arms across his broad chest expectantly. That was a good sign… it meant that he wasn't as angry as he looked, "I know I ducked out and everything just then but thanks so much for helping me out. I _do _appreciate it, but you've gotta understand it's a little weird for me right now…"

Wordlessly he offered me a hand (which I took), pulled me up and led me back to his locker room.

"Sorry, we can't talk out there." he apologised before his lips crashed down onto mine, the same magic that was present that previous night returning. Our tongues danced furiously as he gently backed me up to the wall, his hands taking mine and pinning them above my head. I could feel the smirk on his lips yet I was powerless to do anything; I was enjoying it all too much. My hands fought the restraint of his until he let them go, only for me to run my fingers down his abs as we continued to kiss. Eventually things cooled down- we simply stared into each other's eyes. I could see he was searching for an answer in mine… an answer I didn't have.

"I'm sorry Dave," I said in a voice so small I could hardly believe it belonged to me.

"I understand," he replied simply, kissing me on the forehead and gathering his things, "Don't let him change who you are Tammy."

He closed the door gently behind him, leaving me staring at the space he had just occupied. From the very beginning this is what I promised myself wouldn't happen… I promised Jason.

"Till death do us part…" I muttered, taking my wedding band from my purse and quietly examined it. I'd taken those vows so seriously… I couldn't let them go. He was a lying, cheating scumbag but I wasn't any better; I'd just proven that. I touched my lips gingerly, the very lips that had been left searing by the heat of another. A silent tear rolled down my cheek as I placed the wedding band back to it's pocket, wiped my eyes and put on a brave face. It was time for Wrestlemania.

OoOoOoOoO

I watched behind the barrier as the final Diva Search contestant sashayed to the ring, a water gun in hand and a painfully tight bra suffocating her cleavage. It was at that moment I remembered exactly why I had never expressed a desire to get in the ring; I'm not saying that wrestling is in my blood but I'd always expected to have cracked under the pressure of suggestions regarding myself and a paddle on the pole match. I simply couldn't understand how exhibiting oneself for $100000 was meant to make a girl feel sexy… I was thinking more along the lines of violated and vulnerable.

It was like pandemonium with well over 87000 fans filling the arena's every crevice, roaring with both approval and dismay at the spectacle before them.

"You couldn't look any more bored, lady." a voice shouted in my ear above the din. I didn't even make an attempt to look at them, swiftly replying,

"Actually… I could, trust me. I'm only here for one match."

"Yeah- Batista v Cena, huh?" he quipped leaving me bewildered as to how he knew that, "You have that 'Batista fan' look about you… he always gets the best looking ones."

A small amused smile escaped before I could stop it and I turned to speak to him properly. I was greeted with the one and only Rick Achberger, known to most as 'WWE sign guy'.

"Really, huh?" I replied cockily, raising an eyebrow. He gave me a knowing smile and turned back to the action. Well, whatever was going on in the ring, which was in fact a young girl being handed a cheque by Jonathan Coachman as the other girl clapped enthusiastically. So fake and phoney; even I could see that she was crushed. Still, she dealt with it well before being ushered to the back so the winner could bask in the glory of her victory. Kerry-Lynn was the name announced, tears streaming down the young woman's face and she fell to the floor crying and clutching her ticket to Diva status.

Just as they announced the next match my phone rang. I hurriedly searched through my bag for it and flipped it open.

"_Hi, this is Mike, one of the porters at the hotel. There seems to have been a break-in and I'd just like for you to confirm whether or not you entrusted anything to us."_

I excused myself from the rowdy crowd and moved to the concession stand in the arena. It was marginally quiet, so I felt I could give my answer.

"No honey, I didn't leave anything. Thank you for calling me though, have a nice day."

With that I put the phone down and returned to my seat, glancing up just in time to be graced with Dave's entrance. The crowd turned into a mosh pit, pushing and shoving to get a good look at The Animal in the flesh. I tried to look as enthusiastic, but was more than busy trying to tame the butterflies tickling at the inside of my stomach. I silently watched as he made nice with the fans, slapping their hands as he made his way down the unnecessarily long runway. I ducked my head as he made his approach, scrolling through the contact list of my Sidekick 3 and trying to block out the increasing roar of my section. When I finally lifted my eyes I realised why; stood right in front of me was Dave, coaxing the crowd into cheering for him by giving them the thumbs up and roaring at them. I was slightly intimidated as he leant over me to give a young boy behind me a high-five. When he finally retreated he lingered in front of me before leaning over and whispering in my ear, "If I win tonight, I want you."

I don't know why.

I don't know how.

I'll never be able to explain it.

The words that a whispered back even shocked me.

"Dave Batista, if you win tonight, you can have me. _All of me_."

A huge grin spread across his face as he took off his shirt, handed it to me and winked with me staring on in amazement. I guess he'd done that to placate the crowd of their suspicions. I'll miss out all that technical bullshit because as I've already explained, I'm not exactly wrestling savvy. Dave won in apparently 'the shortest but most intense title match ever fought at Wrestlemania'. I've never seen him look so proud as he lifted that belt above his head, the crowd screaming in approval and chanting his name. This continued for a few minutes before the noise died down slightly and Dave spoke into the microphone.

"Tonight, I've gotten everything I've ever wanted… my belt, my Wrestlemania, _all of you._"

He dropped the microphone and returned to the back; I went to the ladies room to freshen up. It was going to be a long night.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It's been a whole three years, but I'm back! I hope those that were already following this story will enjoy this chapter, and that any new readers will too.**

**This chapter contains SEX. Yes it does.**

**Chapter 7**

_What have you gotten yourself into this time?_

I wish I knew. I'd been pacing back and forth for well over five minutes trying to figure out what the hell to do. What had possessed me? Sure Dave was a great guy, but I'd known him for all of a month and I'd practically sacrificed myself to the Gods. I didn't know whether to be disgusted with myself or secretly proud – the prospect of a night with the Animal proved almost too much to resist. As I weighed up the pros and cons of giving into temptation, I heard the low rumble of fans leaving the arena and heading for the washrooms. With an inward shrug I took one last glance at myself in the mirror and headed for the backstage area.

OoOoOoOoO

The echoes of hands slapping sweaty backs, congratulations and lockers slamming shut filled the hallway as I headed for Jeff's locker room. I knocked quietly, waiting for an answer. There was none.

"Jeff?"

I knocked once more, a lot louder, but still there was no response. I tried the handle which gave immediately and made my way inside. It was a small room, the floor littered with empty drinks cans and splatterings of blue and green hair dye.

"Jeff, it's Tamsin, you in here?" I called, although it was quite obvious that unless he was cowering in fear in the bathroom, Jeff Hardy had already left the building. I couldn't believe it – I desperately needed somebody to talk me out of what I was about to do, tell me I was off beam, irrational, stupid… anything.

"What you doin' here Darlin'?"

The voice made me jump, but I was more than pleased to see that Mark had somehow managed to track me down; almost as though he knew that his services were required.

"You got any idea where Jeff might have gone?" I asked him, my eyes scanning the room as though he would appear from thin air, "I wanted to congratulate him on his match, and that little fucker's disappeared on me!"

Mark raised an unkempt eyebrow. "You mean… you watched Wrestlemania this year?"

I nodded, a smug expression crossing my face in contrast to his of utter disbelief. "If you say so Darlin'…" he teased, pulling his hair back into a messy ponytail. Stepping out into the hallway, he checked the coast was clear before shutting the door and grabbing me a seat from the corner of the room.

"Sit." He commanded, gesturing to the chair. He grabbed one for himself and sat in front of me, then leaned back with his arms crossed, his green eyes firmly fixed on me.

"So, Tammy," he began, "you an' Dave have been getting a little close lately, huh?"

I shuffled uncomfortably in my seat. The mention of his name seemed to cause a guilty dryness in my throat that could only be remedied by an equally guilty gulp of saliva. My mind went back to the searing kiss we had shared only hours before.

"Are you about to give me a lecture, Mark?"

It came out hopefully, which clearly took him by surprise. If Mark approved, as far as I was concerned it was the green light I so desperately sought to have a chance to move on with my life. Everything had gone so badly wrong, and I needed something to occupy the time I frequently spent thinking about Jason. I knew that I wasn't to blame; that nothing I could have said or done would have made any sort of difference, but I still felt tied to him and what we'd had together.

An odd silence had descended upon the room.

"… Tammy…" he sighed, before a knock on the door interrupted us.

I straightened up immediately; Mr McMahon often did the rounds after a major pay-per-view to thank the talent for their contribution to the event (or so I had been told). Mark stood up and opened the door. It was Dave, an enormous smile planted on his face. My heart began to race as the two men greeted each other, complimenting one another on their respective matches. My eyes locked with Dave's as I sent him a coy smile, not really knowing quite where to stare. He looked incredible. Clearly fresh from a shower, delicate beads of water navigated his chiselled biceps, a black vest hugging his every muscle.

"I've been looking for you." He stated, casually leaning against the back of the door. A weird, inhuman squeaking noise was the only thing I seemed able to emit in acknowledgement, as I silently pleaded that Mark would do or say something to take the heat off me. There was more hollow silence and nervous glancing before Mark cut in.

"Well, I'm beat. I'm gonna drive back to the hotel and get me some sleep. Bye, Darlin'." he declared, kissing me on the forehead and shaking Dave's hand. He sent me a mischievous smirk before he left, his leather jacket over his shoulder.

"_You look good."_

I wasn't sure whether I'd thought it or said it aloud, but either way Dave was making a beeline for me. He offered me his hand and pulled me from the chair to his rock hard chest, a gasp escaping my lips.

"So, Tammy…" he began, the deep rumble in his chest vibrating me slightly, "…are you all talk, or did you mean what you said back there?"

My thoughts were overlapping rapidly as I scrambled for something coherent to reply. He had the most intense grip on me, almost like a lion sinking its claws into a gazelle. What was Mark going to say before we were disturbed? He had let out a shallow sigh - that I could remember - but I couldn't tell whether it was the 'let me explain something' sigh or the 'I want you to let Dave Batista do as he pleases with you' sigh. I could feel Dave's breath slowing as he anticipated my response, which was certainly far from forthcoming.

"You know," his low growl dripped into my ear, "the thought of having you tonight was the reason my match was so short. It's embarrassing to have an erection on live television."

I fought to keep my amusement in, but to no avail. My face practically split in two as I battled to stop an enormous guffaw bursting from my mouth, but I had to let it out. The very thought was enough for me, laughter engulfing me so rapidly I found myself pushing Dave away and locking myself in the bathroom wiping tears from my cheeks. Once I felt as though I'd composed myself enough to make an appearance I slowly pushed the door open, a smiling Dave stood before me.

"I'm sorry!" I chortled, still dabbing at the wet patches resting on my cheekbones, "I haven't laughed like that in _years_!"

There it was. The green light I had been waiting for, just like that.

Dave looked slightly embarrassed, but took it in his stride. "If I wasn't so thick skinned, I'd probably cry myself to sleep tonight with the image of you laughing at me…"

The longer I looked at him, the more attractive he became. As he mumbled on about the various things that my episode could have done to his self-esteem, I studied his features. His eyes were glossy, the outline of his contacts only just visible. His tanned skin was glowing with post-shower sweat, and the mark from an old nose piercing was noticeable, and bizarrely attractive.

"… God knows what would happen if I did something like that to you, considering how you women ca-"

I crossed the room and put two fingers on his lips to shut him up. He looked down at me with a confused expression.

"I meant it."

That was all it took. In one smooth sweep he had me up against the wall, my legs around his waist as our tongues danced hungrily. He let out a low groan as my hands massaged his broad shoulders, his erection urgently pressing through his trousers. We explored each other more thoroughly, each kiss becoming more crucial than the last. His hands gripped the underside of my thighs, his throbbing heat pushing against mine. He broke away.

"Take 'em off." He whispered, hurriedly peppering my neck with kisses as he lowered me to the ground. With our lips connected, I all but ripped my panties off, unbuttoning his trousers and unzipping the fly. He picked me up again, as his trousers fell to his ankles. Without a word he slipped into me, the feeling so intense that I dug my fingers into his back to stop myself from crying out. My back smacked against the wall as he drove himself into me more aggressively, a low grunt escaping him every now and then. I rested my head over his shoulder, allowing the feeling to wash over me. I could feel his lips searching for my face as he trailed up my neck and behind my ear, still deep inside me.

"Tamsin, I'm gonna cum…" he strained to get out before I felt him release into me, with one final thrust. His grip tightened and then released, both of us breathing heavily against each other. We stayed like that for a while, both trying to regain composure.

"Thanks." He whispered in my ear, tears immediately pricking my eyes. Without a word, he let me down and we put our clothes back on. I left without saying goodbye.

OoOoOoOoO

Jeff was sat on my bed when I got back to my hotel room.

"Tammy, where the hell did you get to? I was goin' out of my mind!"

"Yeah, sure you were, Hardy." I retorted, putting my jacket on the back of the door and taking my shoes off, "So worried that you had time to call room service and order a seafood platter."

Jeff gave a sheepish smile, moving up on the bed so there was room for me. "Well you're a big girl. Plus, I knew the smell of freshly cooked shrimp would lure you back!"

"It would have if there was any left, greedy guts!" I replied, lightly tapping him on the ribs to get him to make more room for me, "That best not be going on my bill."

He sent me a cheeky smile to let me know that it definitely would be, and turned the TV on. "Where did you get to anyhow? Did Mark find you?" he asked as he flicked through the channels, settling on an old episode of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.

"Yeah, he did. I was with him." Which I was.

"Oh, alright. That's what took you so long then." Jeff's tone had changed; it wasn't quite as perky as before.

"Well… yeah. What else would I have been doing?" I responded in an accusatory tone before he could even try to figure anything out.

"Nothin'. And you're okay about it, then?"

"… yes?" I was completely lost.

"He was an asshole anyway Tammy, gettin' a divorce will be the best thing you've ever done."

I went completely numb, my blood running cold. A divorce? That was the sigh. The sigh that Mark had released just before Dave had walked in. It was the 'I've got some bad news for you' sigh. It had been inevitable in some ways, but if anything I would have thought that it was up to me, as the blameless party, to file for divorce papers. Was I really that undesirable that Jason could just let me go at the flick of a switch? Dispensable, unimportant, insignificant?

"Absolutely." Was my empty reply, "I'm just gonna go grab a shower."


End file.
